Marketers at Waterside’s New General Market threaten to abstain from October’s 2023 polls, if…
Several marketers at the New General Market in the commercial hub of Waterside in Montserrado County District #7 have threatened to abandon all activities leading to the October 2023 polls if their demand to have the market structure renovated by the Government is not met.
Scores of marketers speaking in an aggrieved tone claimed that several calls to have their market structure reconditioned by the ruling Government have failed to yield fruit, adding that they have tried on several occasions to reach the attention of the l Legislature but to no avail.
According to the marketers, the present state of their market building is quite deplorable and as such it does not longer represent a conducive area for carrying out normal business activities.
Lamenting on the present state of the market structure, the marketers on Friday, April 7, 2023, through their Chair and spokesperson, Patricia Queley told newsmen that they have become impatience to continue in what she termed as an “unhygienic and unsafe” market environment that is risking their health and as such they cannot prefer to turn up to participate in activities leading to October’s 2023 polls.
“Last year we call on the same government for this building, no understanding, the President came and passed by us and go as far as West-Point to fix another market building, then we were the first (in route) he never came here to come to fix our building, anytime we raise this concern, we cannot see anyone come and do it for us. But this time around if nobody helps us we will not reach out to the polls to vote”, said the marketers.
In addition to the series of concerns, the chair of the marketers, Madam Queley at the same time unearthed that among other things, the market environment lacks the basic necessity of electricity coupled with which they are calling for a prompt intervention to be acted upon by the Government of Liberia.
“This same building our LMA here have tried and tried, no way, they can’t fix the building, and like you see the building is worse off, the area has serious leakages when rain falls it flows all over, the zincs are trying to even get remove, and the face of the building has changed totally, moreover to that we lack the access of electricity, and so we are calling our Government”, marketers through their chair decried.
In the meantime, a long-stayed marketer at the Waterside’s New General Market (a meat seller) who narrated that the market which has spent quite a long time in existence, linked its deplorable state to local officials of the market (LMA), something he said the officials are highly concern collecting money for tickets but has paid less attention to the state of the market structure over the time which according to him has resulted to worsen the condition.
“Another problem is, our local authority here (LMA) knows of this, but they are only concerned with collecting money for tickets every time, paying less attention to the leakages and other prevailing problems of this building, which continue to worsen this market structure”, said a long-stayed marketer, James Quenah.
However, as calls heighten over the present state of the market structure, the Local Authority of the Liberia Marketing Association (LMA) at the Waterside’s New General Market is yet to publicly unveil a plan as part of efforts to primarily adhere to the situation which many markets continue to express their grieves.
Meanwhile, following burning concerns among other things which have led to several marketers threatening to stay out of this year’s electoral activities, their response is coming just a few months away from October 10, 2023, General and Presidential elections in the Country, which their rights to vote is crucial for every aspiring candidate
W. Roland James is a Journalist by Profession; a Public Speaker and Interested-Advocate, who is determing to render essential conderable service to the Liberian Society.
He has a passion in Sports reporting, Human interest stories and overall reports from all sectors of relative to the field of journalism. He stands by the belief in the profession that ‘’The Public journal is a public trust; and that a journalist shoud only writes what he/she holds in heart to be true’’.